Trapped
by altwriter
Summary: Cobb's team has been given an ultimatum: Help the BAU with an extraction, or go to jail.  What happens when the case turns out to be more intricate than they could've ever imagined?  AU.  Possible A/A and H/P.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Inception.

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Author's Note: This is going to be long. But I'm going to enjoy writing the dynamics as the characters interact. Possible pairings are Arthur/Ariadne, and perhaps Hotch/Prentiss, thought I'm not sure how it's going to turn out.

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**Prologue:**

They'd been caught. Even with all the planning, all the cautionary measures they'd taken _against _something like this happening, the government had still managed to wrap their grimy hands around the team. And there they ended up, all five of them confined to a single room, furnished only with a rectangular steel table a fold-out chair for each of them. Cobb thought it lucky that they hadn't been shackled.

It was an interrogation room, they all knew. This building they were in was the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. The team's _own _headquarters, another deserted warehouse, had been raided while they'd been gathered there, attempting to work on their next case; this one an extraction.

Ariadne was standing, pacing the room, looking scared out of her mind. She'd known that the line of work she'd chosen to be involved in wasn't exactly legal, though it seemed as if she hadn't come to realize the consequences until now. Arthur's expression was neutral, but both Cobb and Eames looked massively peeved. Yusuf was on the edge of his seat, tapping his feet in his anxiety. He should've known that this would've happened eventually.

The door at one end of the room swung open, and in walked a man, wearing both a black suit and a nasty scowl. "We've decided to offer you a deal," he said, though he didn't look as if it were his choice to give them a chance to compromise.

"A deal?" scoffed Eames, crossing his arms as his eyebrows shot up towards his hairline.

The man nodded. "One where you all won't end up in jail." Ariadne stopped her pacing as the words _won't _and _jail _reached her ears.

"Well, what is it then?" Cobb moved from his spot at the wall, steeling his jaw. Arthur still leaned against the wall, silently observing, yet willing to jump in at any time with his own thoughts.

"You guys ever heard of the Behavioral Analysis Unit?" He cocked a brow, and his scowl grew deeper when none of them made any indication that they had any idea what he was talking about. "They're part of the FBI, dealing with psychology and the like."

Arthur's eyes narrowed, and it seemed like he finally decided to speak. "What have they got to do with us?"

"You're going to help them."

"Help them how?"

"You're going to train them in that thing you call extraction." He practically spat out the words.

Cobb shook his head vehemently. "Dream sharing, and extraction, are extremely intricate. It'll be hard to teach anyone with no knowledge about it to do it."

"It's either help them, or go to jail." The man shrugged. "Your choice."

* * *

Section Chief Erin Strauss was not the first person Aaron Hotchner would've wanted to be greeting early on a Monday morning. Nonetheless, it was she who sat waiting in his office when he arrived at seven a.m. sharp that day.

"Agent Hotchner," she said curtly, getting to her feet as he entered.

"Chief Strauss." His greeting was equally as cold. "What can I do for you?"

"It's not what you can do for me." He frowned. It wasn't like Strauss to be cryptic; the woman was normally straight, and to the point. "Have you ever heard of a dream-share?"

Hotch shook his head. "No."

"It's a type of technology, used to enter peoples' dreams."

He cleared his throat, repressing the urge to roll his eyes. "Excuse me?"

"Exactly what I just said, Agent. And your team has been chosen to learn how to use it. You'll be training with the best team out there; they're criminals really, as what they've been doing is illegal, but we think that your team will be able to put what they do to good use."

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Author's Note: So, what'd you think? Should I continue?

Sorry it was so short; the upcoming chapters will be _much _longer, I promise.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Inception.

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Author's Note: I changed the prologue around a bit. You'll want to reread it before you continue on with this chapter. Also, sorry for JJ and Garcia fans, but neither of them will be involved in this much.

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**Chapter One:**

Strauss had gone into further explanation of this 'dream sharing' process with Hotch, and frankly, he wasn't too fond of the idea. It all seemed too much like something out of a science-fiction movie; not something that could actually be used in real life. But, when he'd reiterated the section chief 's words to the rest of the team, Reid had gone into a lengthy explanation of how the technology was possible. He'd actually heard of it, and Hotch wondered why the genius had never bothered to share the news of this invention with the rest of the team.

As it turned out, it'd been developed by the military, though others, with more malevolent intentions, had gotten then hands on the equipment as well. The BAU had received files on the team that would be teaching them. Though, none of them seemed like criminals to Hotch. At least, not the kind he was used to working with.

And that was how the BAU found themselves travelling to what used to be an abandoned warehouse outside of DC; the place they'd be meeting the team. It'd been fixed up nicely, looking as if the FBI had been planning this out for a while. Reid, Hotch, and Emily led the parade of SUVs, with the youngest chattering away from his spot in the backseat about the subconscious' role in dreams; nothing Hotch nor Emily paid much attention to. Morgan and Rossi trailed behind, making small talk as they went. Garcia and JJ had stayed behind at the academy. It didn't seem necessary for them to learn these skills; Garcia wasn't a field agent, and JJ wasn't a profiler.

As they pulled into the parking lot, it became apparent that the team they'd be working with had already arrived. Two other SUVs already sat parked in front of the doors. From what they knew, these people had been transported by plane across the country, from Los Angeles, and then taken straight here from the airport. Though, they had also been informed that they were all trusted enough to not flee, and had been allowed to roam the city of DC as they pleased while they were training the BAU, not allowed to leave unless they were heading to the warehouse. Of course, they'd be tracked down and sent immediately to jail if they did attempt to escape.

They hastily made their way into the building, wanting to escape the chilly February air as quickly as they could. Glass double doors led into a large rectangular room, with concrete walls and floors. One part had been sanctioned off, furnished with long steel tables with various chemicals scattered on top. At the other end were two rows of cots. This was all more glamorous than Cobb's team was used to; back in Paris, they'd used lawn chairs.

Speaking of Cobb's team, the five of them had congregated in one corner, talking amongst themselves as they waited for the BAU to arrive. Hotch led the agents to where they stood, halting a few feet away. He cleared his throat to announce his presence, and when he caught their attention, he spoke.

"Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner." The man who was obviously the leader of the group stuck out his hand with a terse nod towards Hotch.

"Dom Cobb." After a swift handshake, Hotch continued to introduce the rest of his own team. Once that was finished, Cobb pointed to the four others that stood beside him.

"Ariadne, our architect." She looked barely old enough to drink, much less have the experience needed to invade dreams, and held the same sort of naivety that encircled Reid.

"Arthur, the point man." He reminded Hotch of himself; an impassive expression on a sculpted face, with a dark three-piece suit and gelled hair.

"Eames, the forger." The man wore a perpetual smirk, and stubble coated his chin. He didn't look as put-together as Cobb and Arthur did.

"And Yusuf, the chemist." He looked Middle Eastern, perhaps, and had a bushy head of hair, and clothes that looked to be about a size too big for him. Cobb straightened up, sliding his hands into his pockets before he continued, "I'm the extractor."

"It's nice to meet you," lied Hotch. To be honest, he wasn't looking forward to any of this, though he knew Strauss would have his head if the BAU didn't go through with her plans.

"I understand that you already know what we're going to be teaching you?"

"We've received some brief details, but it would probably be best if you went more in-depth before we went any further."

A curious smirk inched its way onto Cobb's face as he said, "Perhaps it would be better if we showed you." He clapped his hands together. "Do you all remember how you got here?"

"Of course," twittered Reid, frowning slightly at what he considered an obvious question. "Standard FBI-issue SUVs."

Cobb shook his head. "No, no. Before that. What were you all doing before that?"  
"What do you mean?" That was Emily, irritation creeping into her voice. "We were at the BAU.." She trailed off, suddenly sounding unsure of herself. Rossi and Morgan glanced at each other, both wearing a look of confusion.

"Exactly."

Arthur took a step forward, jerking his chin towards Hotch. "You know, Agent, I would've thought that it'd be protocol for you to be carrying a gun."

Hotch's hand flew to his hip. To his dismay, his hand hit the fabric of his slacks, rather than the hard plastic of his Glock. "I put it on this morning." A rare expression of confusion crossed the unit chief's face, though he narrowed his eyes as he refocused his gaze towards Arthur. "Are you trying to tell us that we're dreaming _right now_?"

Eames let out a hearty laugh. "Oi, we've got a smart group here, huh? He's caught on quick." Ariadne smiled at that, and continued on from where Arthur had left off.

"In dreams, you don't realize something was strange about it until you've woken up." She was repeating, almost verbatim, the words that Cobb had spoken to her merely months before. "Your gun missing is an example, agent."

Rossi waved a hand, dismissing the whole conversation. "Great, this is all so very interesting," he said, "but how is this going to help us?"

Eames snorted, and Arthur cocked a brow, as Cobb replied, "We were informed that we'd be teaching you about extraction."

Hotch nodded. "Yes. It may help us with evidence, and confessions." Though his demeanor hadn't changed, the realization that they were, in fact, in a dream at that moment did manage to shake him a bit.

"Well, the key to extractions is knowing where to look for the information you're trying to extract." He gestured to Ariadne. "Ariadne is our architect. She designs the dream worlds that we insert ourselves into. When we're doing an extraction, we add some type of secure area; a safe, or a bank, or even a password-protected computer, and the subconscious immediately fills that with what it's trying to protect."

"So, all you need to do once you're in the dream is find that secure area and open it?" said Morgan incredulously.

"It's not usually that easy."

Arthur nodded his assent to Cobb's declaration. "The subconscious creates projections. If the dreamer becomes aware that there are foreign beings present, they'll attack." Ariadne involuntarily shuddered at this, remembering Mal's vicious attack on her, when she'd been in Cobb's dream.

"So, how come there aren't any of these so-called projections here?" questioned Reid, slightly peeved at the fact that he wasn't as informed in this field of study as he would've liked. Though, it was also true that this was not exactly a _legitimate _field of study in the first places; there were no books or internet resources available on the topic, as there were for the subjects of psychology, sociology, etc.

"Would there normally be people wandering around in a government building?"

Reid balked. "Uh, no."

"Well, projections act just as if they would in real life. If we were to walk out of here, we'd find some of them driving along in cars, some of them sitting in restaurants. They only get nasty once they're onto you."

Arthur grinned darkly, and commented, "Oh, do I know that."

Eames rolled his eyes. "Wah. Keep up your complainin' and see where it gets you."

Arthur said nothing in reply, instead choosing to shoot a glare back at the forger, his eyes burning a hole in the back of the older man's head.

Cobb ignored the quip, and continued, "We'll be teaching you how to perform an extraction. It'll take a while for all of you just to get used to dream sharing, but you all seem intelligent. I think you'll catch on fairly quick."

* * *

They found themselves awaking to a scene that was parallel to the place they'd been in the dream. It seemed that Ariadne had designed the dream to accurately resemble the warehouse that they'd be working in. Emily wondered how the hell they'd gotten there in the first place, knowing that the rest of the BAU was probably wondering the same thing, but decided not to voice her question. Hotch seemed angry, while the others simply looked curious, and Reid was downright excited. Of course, the condescension he'd sensed in Cobb's final sentence before they'd all woken up hadn't done much to help.

The ten of them had been hooked up to a couple of dream-shares, and they all disconnected themselves from the machine, and Arthur went to work packing them back up and setting the briefcases to the side.

"I think that was enough for one day," Cobb was saying as he stood, stretching his arms up towards the ceiling as he did so. "Tomorrow we can talk more about the details."

Hotch stood as well, his hand going to his hip, and he realized with joy that his Glock was safely tucked away in its holster, where it was supposed to be. "Fine," was all he said, and the BAU promptly left, all still a bit dazed from the previous event.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Inception.

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**Chapter Two:**

"Seems like a pretty unhappy group of fellows, huh?" Eames pulled up a chair, sitting backwards on it as he rested his chin on his arms. The BAU had left about an hour ago, and Cobb's team had stayed at the warehouse, preparing for another day of training. The whole building had been outfitted specifically for their needs; even Yusuf had his own high-tech area for developing his sedatives.

Arthur peered over the rim of the briefcase that held the dream-share, his dark eyes narrowed. "I'm sure they're not used to all of this."

Ariadne spoke up from her spot at the other end of the table, where she'd been sketching in a notebook. "I thought they were pretty interested."

"Yeah," snorted Eames, "all of them except Agent Hotchner, who needs to get the stick out of his arse."

"We'll, we'd better learn to get along with _all _of them." Cobb had been staring out the window, as though ignoring the conversation. But he turned on his heel to face them, a grim smile on his face. "Because it's either that, or we go to jail."

Arthur stopped what he was doing, focusing solely on the dialogue now. "But what I don't understand," he said, "is how we're going to teach them to do an extraction." He jerked his head towards Cobb. "You and I, we've been doing this for years, and still we can't prevent a mistake from sometimes happening. How're we supposed to teach them in the short amount of time we've been allotted?"

Cobb shrugged. "We'll manage somehow."

Arthur scoffed. "Famous last words."

* * *

Hotch had closed himself off in his office immediately upon the team's return to Quantico. He'd stayed there for an hour, doing who-knows-what, until Rossi decided he's interrupt whatever little paperwork-filled rut he'd gotten himself into while he'd been alone.

The older man didn't bother to knock, instead barging in and making himself comfortable on the couch pushed against the wall that sat opposite the unit chief's desk. Hotch didn't look up from the paperwork he was scribbling furiously on, just muttered a solemn greeting.

"Nice way to greet an old friend, Aaron," said Rossi, cocking a brow. He twisted the ring on his finger absentmindedly as he spoke.

"Sorry, Dave." Hotch still did not raise his eyes. "I'm not in the best of moods at the moment."

"Look at me," he demanded, and slowly, Hotch dropped the pen and lifted his chin, his dark eyes meeting Rossi's. "What's wrong with you?"

Hotch frowned. "What's wrong with _me_?" he parroted. "How about: What's wrong with _Strauss_? We should be focusing on our cases. Not this _dream sharing _garbage."

"Garbage? Reid sure seems to think otherwise; he hasn't stopped talking about it since we got back. And, he also seems to think that it'll be pretty useful."

"Dave, we're working with criminals."

"Not the worst kind, by far. I think that, in some cases, they've managed to make the world a better place." He paused. "And, what better way to repent than to help us out, the real-life superheroes, huh?"

Hotch brought in a breath through his nose, and released it seconds later through pursed lips. "I don't like the idea of it all." Rossi said nothing, merely nodded his head, an indication for Hotch to continue. "It all seems like something out of a science-fiction movie," he said, repeating his earlier thoughts.

"Well, I guess it does sort of sound like some elaborate joke that Strauss planned out," said Rossi, managing to keep his tone serious.

"Dave, come on. You were with the BAU when it first started. Could you ever imagine _literally _diving into a criminal's mind?"

"No." Rossi grinned. "But, Aaron, this is the future. We're going through a technological revolution. Why not grab it by the horns and make the most of everything we can?"

Before Hotch could spit out another retort, there was a knock at the door. "Come in," he said, glad for the respite from what was turning into a rather heated conversation.

The media liaison waved a manila folder. "New case."

"JJ, I don't think we'll be able to handle another case with the training-"

She cut him off. "This is important. And, it's right in Virginia. You won't have to travel. The rest of the team's already gathered in the conference room." Rossi hopped up upon hearing this, and began to make his way for the door as JJ asked, "How was your first day of training, anyway?"

The older agent chuckled and said, as he brushed past JJ, "Ask Hotch; he has a lot to say about it." JJ decided not to follow Rossi's advice, seeing the look of anger that flashed across the unit chief's face at the statement. Instead, she simply said,

"Well, I hope it went well." She hadn't been trained to be a profiler, but working with some of the best in the country had honed her perception skills. And, JJ had been working long enough with Hotch to know when not to keep going with something.

She'd probe Emily or Reid for answers later. Now, though, she had to present the case.

* * *

They all sat around the conference room; the bureau's own Knights of the Round Table. Hotch still looked thoroughly pissed off, though no further comments were made about their earlier training session. Instead, they all needed to focus on the task at hand: their newest case.

"This is Victoria Cooper, the fourth victim of our latest UNSUB." JJ worked the remote, and a picture of girl's body, bruised and bloodied almost beyond recognition, appeared on the television screen. "Each of the victims have been abducted from various sections of the general DC area. They were found dead a week after reported missing. Ligature marks were found on their wrists and ankles, and there are sure signs of physical abuse and torture."

"What about sexual assault?" interjected Hotch. He seemed to have calmed down quite a bit.

"No indication of _that_, thank God." She pressed another button on the remote, and a second picture appeared, this one a wider view of the crime scene and the body. "Each of the victims were found dumped in an alleyway. Their clothes were still on them, though barely intact from the beatings they sustained."

"And all of the victims have been women?" said Reid, though the question was hypothetical. He could easily obtain that information by a quick flip through the case file. JJ nodded, and the young genius continued, "This UNSUB is misogynistic. He's dumping these women like they're trash."

"And," added Emily, "he's sadistic. He's holding these women for a _week_, doing who-knows-what to them. Toying with them, I would think. Trying to see how long they last."

"And when he's through with them," said Hotch gravely, "he kills them, and disposes of their bodies."

"JJ, what was the cause of death?" Morgan said, squinting as he stared at the pictures. These images wouldn't be leaving his mind for quite a while.

"Strangulation."

Rossi murmured something under his breath, and when asked to elucidate, said, "He wants to feel the life leave their bodies. He's all about power and control."

"And he'll have somewhere to keep them, somewhere private," said Reid, his hand fluttering as he gesticulated along with his words. "Perhaps even in his own home, or somewhere of the sort."

"We should meet up with the local PD, see what they have so far," said Rossi.

"Ah, not much," JJ said gloomily. "I already had a long talk with the lead detective."

Hotch stood. "Well, we know two things: This UNSUB is extremely organized. That's why he hasn't been caught yet, even after four victims."

"And what's the second?"

"He's not going to be easy to catch."

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Author's Note: I cannot apologize enough for how long it took me to update. Life got in the way, and I've been extremely busy. And I'm sorry for the lack of Cobb's team in this chapter as well. But, it'll get more exciting in the upcoming chapters, as we explore the relationships that develop between the two teams. And suggestions, comments, etc., are always welcome! Thanks to everyone that's been reading, reviewing, etc. I really do appreciate it. Hopefully, I'll be able to update more often, though don't hold your breath. But I do promise that this story _will not _be forgotten.


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